THIS star India bowler not on selectors' radar for T20 World Cup, says report

India are on a roll at the moment in T20 cricket. They levelled the series despite being 0-2 down vs South Africa. The last match finished with no result due to rain but India's young guns have showed they can step up in international cricket. Hardik Pandya then led India to a 2-0 win over the Irish and now the team is all set to take England on in the T20 series from the next week. As only a few international matches are left before the T20 World Cup 2022, the selectors will be keeping an eye on every player`s performance. But, according to sources, pacer Mohammed Shami is not on the selectors' radar.

"Selectors are not seeing Shami for T20 World Cup as he is not fit for the format. Selectors want to invest in young bowlers and give them maximum chances before the World Cup in Australia. They might pick Bhuvneshwar Kumar as one of the senior bowlers but probably Shami could miss the Australia flight this time for the T20 World Cup," a source told ANI.

Shami will be featuring in the fifth Test against England on July 1 at Edgbaston, Birmingham.The rescheduled match is a part of last year`s five-match Test series that had to be delayed after the fourth Test due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Indian camp. Notably, the 31-year-old pacer last represented India in the shortest format against Namibia in the 2021 T20 World Cup and since then has failed to make it to the squad. 

There is a huge fight among batters as well for the a place in the T20 World Cup. Dinesh Karthik has already showed that age is just a number for him while the likes of Sanju Samson, Deepak Hooda have impressed the selectors with good show in the Ireland series. The Ruturaj Gaikwads and Ishan Kishans cannot be ignored either while the big guns like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are certain starters in mega event in Australia. Selectors have a big but sweet headache ahead of them when it comes to choosing the squad for the T20 World Cup.  

With ANI inputs